All In The Family
A Tribute to the Schulte Family
For the past 24 years, there has been one element in every single O’Gorman production that most theatre goers may be unaware of. There are some hidden gems that are truly the secret to our success with every production. That secret is all in the family; the Schulte family. Parents, Jon and Nancy Schulte, met in the Twin Cities through a young adult group at their Catholic church. They married and Jon’s work allowed him to transfer to Sioux Falls to raise a family…a big one. Ten kids to be exact. All who would attend Bishop O’Gorman Catholic Schools and all who would be actively involved with the theatre department. All of the Schulte kids have worked behind the scenes on the technical crew. A few even managed to balance their time acting in a show and working on the technical crew. In the Fall of 1998, a tradition spanning over two decades was about to begin. The eldest son, Philip, started spending time after school getting involved with technical theatre. Philip recalls getting his start in the technical world back in 6th grade. Christ the King church was closed for renovations so mass services were held in the gym
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every weekend. That meant setting up a portable sound system. “I learned how to do that and helped them set it up. I think it was 6th grade as well where we did a class trip to go see an O’Gorman musical. I remember looking in the back and seeing an upperclassman I knew running spotlight for it. I knew I wanted to do that someday,” said Philip. Once he started high school he showed up after school to work on the technical crew. “I got involved and since that day I was hooked.” Philip asked the technical director at the time, Mr. Kevin Brick, to show him how the equipment worked. “He gave me a crash course on lights and sound,” Philip explained. In fact, Philip remembers during his sophomore year being called to the main office several times to get the sound or lighting system up and running before an event happening in the auditorium. “I would say I spent a good chunk of my nights and weekends helping build the sets, hang and focus lights, and set the sound system. I felt at home in the theatre and loved playing with the technology. It was only natural that I would go to college
